"SHIELD moves fast," Daniel Davis muttered as he sped towards Stark Industries. He noticed that all the online footage and livestreams of the robot battle had mysteriously disappeared. Even though it was late at night, New York's streets were far from empty. The sight of two Iron Man suits clashing was too spectacular to go unnoticed. Some onlookers had captured the fight on their phones, and a few brave souls even livestreamed it. But now, all that content had vanished from the web.
News helicopters, initially buzzing around for a scoop, were abruptly called back. Despite journalists' protests about missing out on a big story and their cries for press freedom, their bosses had issued strict orders: return or get fired.
People often assume that the USA enjoys unbridled freedom of the press. However, when the authorities want to clamp down, no media outlet is exempt. It's not like in the movies where fearless reporters defy orders. In reality, even if they defied their bosses and captured footage, they wouldn't be able to broadcast it.
The scandals that do make it to the news are within acceptable limits. Truly crossing the line is rare. American media might expose presidential misconduct without much trouble, but they steer clear of offending the real powerhouses—the great families like the Symons, Roosevelts, Kennedys, Adamses, and DuPonts. These figures rarely appear in the news, and even if they do, their true identities remain obscure.
The term "family" might seem ordinary, but most people have no idea that these families quietly control much of America. Compared to them, even Stark Industries pales in influence.
Daniel had learned about these families when he briefly looked into Drake Symons, the National Security Advisor. However, he decided not to probe further. There was no need to attract their attention unless absolutely necessary.
Even if conflicts with Drake Symons arose because of Ada Wong, it wouldn't matter much. The major corporations and families only care about profits. If the price was right, they'd sell out Drake Symons in a heartbeat. Symons' own obsession with Ada Wong had already caused his downfall; his family and the greater organization had discarded him for harming their interests without yielding any significant returns.
Suddenly, Daniel's car screeched to a halt with an emergency brake, skidding into a dramatic ninety-degree turn before stopping near the rubble that trapped Coulson and his team.
"Looks like you could use some help," Daniel quipped as he stepped out, leaning against the hood of his car with a smile, watching the stunned faces of Coulson and his agents.
"You…" Coulson started to speak but was interrupted by a loud crash. They looked up to see one side of Stark Tower crumble under the intense fight between Iron Man and Iron Monger, sending debris plummeting towards them.
"Watch out!" Coulson shouted, trying to pull Pepper Potts to safety. But it was too late. Instinctively, Pepper, Coulson, and the remaining agents crouched down, eyes squeezed shut, bracing for impact.
Crash, crash, crash.
The sound of falling rubble echoed around them, but they felt no pain. Opening their eyes, they saw a transparent, arc-shaped shield above them, blocking the falling debris.
"What is this?" Coulson turned to see Daniel holding his wand aloft, creating the protective barrier.
"Get out of here," Daniel instructed while casting the Levitation Charm to lift the debris trapping Coulson and his team. As they moved to safety, Daniel pulled out another Nimbus 2000 broom and mounted it. While he only had one wand, he had stocked up on several brooms.
On the rooftop of Stark Tower, Iron Monger pummeled Stark's Mark 3 armor relentlessly. Stark could only shield his head with his hands, trying to endure the assault.
Stark Tower's rooftop layout mirrored Stark's beach house, albeit on a smaller scale.
"Need some help?" Daniel called out from his broom, hovering nearby. Despite seeing Stark being beaten, Daniel didn't intervene immediately. Instead, he floated on his broom, addressing the downed Stark.
The unexpected voice startled Iron Monger, causing Obadiah Stane inside to halt his attack. He turned to see Daniel flying on his broom. Although Stane's expression was hidden by the suit, Daniel could sense the hesitation in Iron Monger's movements.
"Close your eyes," Daniel suddenly instructed Stark. With a swift motion of his wand, he cast "Lumos Maxima," producing an intensely bright light that dazzled Stane. Screaming in pain, Iron Monger staggered back.
Daniel had often pondered how magic from the Harry Potter universe could fare against advanced tech like the Iron Man suits. During Stark's captivity, Daniel had considered various scenarios. While powerful, many of the standard spells from Harry Potter wouldn't work against something like Iron Man's armor. Physical barriers could block most spells, including those from the Unforgivable Curses.
However, support spells could be incredibly effective. The enhanced "Lumos" was a perfect example, blinding Stane through the gaps in his suit.
"You're dead!" Enraged but still blinded, Stane deployed Iron Monger's built-in Gatling gun, spraying bullets wildly.
"Get out of here, I'll handle this," Daniel told Stark as they both dodged the gunfire. Stark, barely able to fly with his damaged armor, looked worried.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Stark asked, concerned. His Mark 3 suit was in tatters, its right leg propulsion and repulsor weapon damaged. The Mark 3 outclassed Iron Monger in pure performance, but with its energy depleted and weapons failing, Stark was being overwhelmed.
Iron Monger's thick armor shrugged off Mark 3's repulsor blasts. With no other weapons, Stark was at a severe disadvantage.
"Don't worry, I'll show you what magic can do today," Daniel replied confidently. With a wave of his wand, he engulfed Iron Monger in flames. The suit's vulnerabilities became apparent as fire seeped through its joints.
Defeating Iron Monger was easy for Daniel. He could use Fiendfyre to incinerate Stane or trap him in a mirror dimension using Kamar-Taj's spells. Alternatively, his surgical fruit power could switch places with Stane or even slice through the suit.
But revealing such powers would be unwise. Fire alone, penetrating through Iron Monger's gaps and causing unbearable heat inside, would suffice. Stane's crude design, based on Stark's Mark 1, lacked proper insulation against such attacks.
Seeing Iron Monger trying to escape the flames using his flight system, Daniel quickly transformed the fire into a dragon that chased him.
In terms of speed, Iron Monger lagged behind Mark 3. Had Stane not attacked Pepper and Coulson earlier, forcing Stark into a melee, he would never have caught up to the Mark 3.
"Whatever Stark is paying you, I'll double it!" Stane shouted, dehydrated and desperate as the fire threatened to consume him. Iron Monger's weapons couldn't target Daniel's agile broom.
"No deal. Stark's my friend, and you're going down."
"Damn you!" Realizing he couldn't shake the fire, Stane aimed Iron Monger towards the ground, intending to crash into Stark, Pepper, and Coulson.
"Can't you guys move further away?" Daniel muttered as he saw Stark, mask open, talking to Pepper. With a sigh, he vanished from his broom, reappearing atop Iron Monger. In a split second, both he and the suit disappeared just before they could hit the ground.
When Daniel reappeared in the lobby of Stark Industries, Iron Monger was split in two, with Stane's lifeless body falling apart from the suit.
During the Apparition, Daniel had switched places with Iron Monger, severing Stane's body with the spatial force. Apparition could be a deadly technique when used skillfully.
As Stark arrived in the lobby and saw Stane's remains, he sighed deeply and walked away.
"You're hurt," Daniel observed as he saw Coulson's bleeding arm. He walked over to the agent, who looked at him in surprise.
"It's just a graze," Coulson explained. The wound came from a ricocheted bullet during the battle with Iron Monger.
"A bullet wound?" Daniel asked, extending his left hand to Coulson's shoulder. Ignoring Coulson's shocked expression, he pulled out the bullet effortlessly.
"All better now." Daniel then produced a small vial and applied some ointment to Coulson's wound. The injury healed instantly without leaving a scar.
"Completely healed now."
The ointment, made from dittany, had excellent healing properties, ensuring no scars remained.
"We'll take care of things here. You should go rest," Coulson, now fully recovered, suggested, though he looked weary at the extensive damage to Stark Industries. Covering up this mess, even for SHIELD, would be a monumental task.
"I'll handle it." Given that he had already revealed his Apparition, Daniel saw no need for further secrecy. Walking to the entrance of Stark Industries, he waved his wand, and the building began to repair itself. In mere moments, it looked as if nothing had happened.
"Magic is truly amazing," Coulson marveled as he watched the building restore itself.
"I am Iron Man," Stark declared on live television, tossing aside the carefully crafted script SHIELD had prepared for him. Facing a sea of reporters, Stark confirmed his identity. With that, Daniel knew the Marvel universe's grand saga was beginning. All manner of powerful beings would soon emerge.
___________________
Read Ahead
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"You're certainly popular," Daniel Davis chuckled, shaking his head as he looked at the news and newspapers, all plastered with images of Tony Stark. After Stark publicly confirmed his identity as Iron Man, New York, and indeed all of the USA, buzzed with excitement. People quickly connected the recent footage of a hero fighting terrorists to Stark, amplifying the spectacle.
For most people, Stark being Iron Man was just another spectacle to watch from the sidelines. Whether Stark was a billionaire playboy or a superhero didn't change their daily lives.
Yet, the keen American merchants wasted no time. Soon after Stark's revelation, Iron Man figurines and even comics started flooding the market.
Now, alongside his title as a playboy, Stark was celebrated as a hero. Official reports stated that the other Iron Man suit from the recent battle was part of a terrorist retaliation against Stark. Obadiah Stane's involvement was quietly swept under the rug, with his death attributed to a car accident.
In any other situation, the death of someone like Stane would have dominated the news for days. However, in the current frenzy over Stark's revelation, no one paid it much attention.
Despite his newfound fame, Stark wasn't having an easy time. The U.S. military quickly approached him, demanding he hand over the Iron Man suit.
The military wasn't outright forcing Stark to surrender the suit's blueprints. Instead, they suggested that Stark Industries should produce the suits exclusively for them, effectively sidelining Hammer Industries.
But Stark, resolute after his kidnapping ordeal, refused. Determined not to sell weapons any longer, he cited the sanctity of personal property, and despite their frustration, the military couldn't coerce him into handing over the suit.
For anyone else without Stark's connections, refusing the military would lead to severe consequences—companies shut down under various pretexts, personal ruin. In today's world, it's easy to find or fabricate reasons to bankrupt a business or bring down an individual, even without any actual wrongdoing.
No matter how powerful Daniel was, he knew he couldn't stand against an entire nation.
Of course, the military wasn't ready to give up entirely. When underhanded methods failed, they turned to legal ones, and soon Stark received a subpoena from the military committee.
"Restoring things to their original state isn't always possible," Daniel sighed, examining the damaged mini arc reactor. This was from the Iron Monger suit, handed to him by Stark after the SHIELD clean-up. Stark had hoped that Daniel's magic, which had restored the damage to Stark Industries, might also fix the arc reactor.
Daniel had conducted numerous experiments with the "Reparo" charm, intrigued by its seemingly miraculous effects. Through these tests, he discovered that like other spells, "Reparo" required a clear mental image of the item's original state.
For simple objects like tables or walls, the spell worked perfectly. But for advanced technology, the charm struggled. Daniel had tested it on various modern devices and found that while it could restore the appearance, functional restoration was another matter. Tanks, cars, planes, and computers might look whole again, but they wouldn't work.
Moreover, the magical effort required increased with the technological complexity of the item.
Even with his precise understanding from the Ope Ope no Mi powers, Daniel found that restoring complex machinery like the arc reactor was challenging. The best wizards like Dumbledore or Grindelwald would face similar limitations.
This explained why Ron Weasley's mother was so furious when their flying car got damaged—it needed conventional repairs because "Reparo" wouldn't suffice.
For Daniel, learning advanced physics or engineering could help restore the arc reactor's appearance but not its functionality.
Advanced technology seemed to share a similar limitation with magical objects. For instance, in the Harry Potter world, damaged magical items like Harry's shattered broomstick or Ron's broken wand couldn't be restored with "Reparo."
Only exceptionally powerful magic, like that from the Elder Wand, could achieve such repairs, much like how Daniel couldn't expect the Sorcerer Supreme, Ancient One, to reverse time for every broken item.
Marvel's advanced technology also diminished the effectiveness of many traditional spells. For example, the unlocking charm "Alohomora" could easily open conventional locks and might work on simple electronic locks with more magical effort. But it was useless against more sophisticated security measures like fingerprint or retina scanners. In such cases, spells like "Open Sesame" or "Portus" might be more effective.
The wizarding world's spells have evolved over time. The modern "Alohomora" is a subtle, safe way to unlock things, unlike its explosive predecessors that worked more like blasting curses.
Most spells, however, remained highly effective in the Marvel world. Spells like Apparition could bypass most physical barriers unless protected by spatial defenses. Marvel's bank vaults, for instance, couldn't withstand Apparition without magical defenses, unlike the advanced security measures in the wizarding world post-modernization.
Transfiguration, a prominent spell, stood out as one of the most powerful. It could transform living beings into entirely different forms, akin to the effects of Pym Particles. With sufficient magical power, one could even permanently alter the substance of objects, turning lead into gold or coal into diamonds.
While only a few, like Nicholas Flamel with his Philosopher's Stone, could achieve such feats, Daniel believed that only beings as powerful as the Ancient One could match that level of transfiguration today.
Most wizards could only change appearances temporarily, not alter fundamental properties.
---
"I won't hand over the Iron Man suit. For me, it's like a high-tech prosthetic. You wouldn't expect someone to give away their prosthetic limb, would you? Without it, how would I walk?" Stark declared to the generals and senators at the military committee hearing. He seemed unfazed, even playing a shooting game on his smartphone while Justin Hammer spoke.
During the game, Stark hacked into the committee's computers. Despite assumptions that J.A.R.V.I.S. handled everything, Stark's hacking prowess was unmatched. J.A.R.V.I.S. was his creation, not his father's, a testament to his genius even in his youth.
While Skye's hacking skills were impressive, she still lagged behind Stark in both hardware and software.
As Stark's hack displayed on the big screen, the military committee abruptly ended the inquiry, leaving Justin Hammer seething. Hammer had hoped to pressure Stark into handing over the suit's blueprints to Hammer Industries, potentially catapulting his company to the top of the arms industry.
Though the military and Hammer Industries fixated on the Iron Man suit, they were oddly silent about the arc reactor. This wasn't due to a lack of interest but rather fear. The energy sector, especially a breakthrough like the arc reactor, was already controlled by powerful American families like the Rockefellers.
Attempting to encroach on this territory would be suicidal. When Anton Vanko demonstrated his ability to build an arc reactor, and after his death, no one else pursued it largely because these families intervened. One of these families, the Symons, was particularly familiar to Daniel.
While Hammer Industries thrived, ExoSphere Aerospace struggled. Their research into humanoid armor was rendered obsolete by Stark's Iron Man suits. The military immediately froze their research funding.
Unwilling to fade into obscurity, ExoSphere Aerospace turned to Oscorp Industries. Failing in humanoid armor, they shifted focus to super-soldier serums. Despite the skepticism towards such serums post-Raccoon City incident, some factions, like General Ross who created the Hulk, still supported them. ExoSphere Aerospace aimed to acquire Oscorp and pivot to this new line of research.
---
"Stark seems to be back to his old ways," Daniel mused as he attended a lavish party filled with beautiful women. Stark's recent return to his playboy lifestyle disappointed many, including Pepper Potts and his friend, James Rhodes.
"The stress from the poisoning is making him reckless again," Daniel sighed, observing Stark from across the room. The once-responsible hero now seemed to have reverted to his carefree, hedonistic ways. Stark had even recently appointed Pepper as CEO of Stark Industries, a role she had little time for as Daniel's company's CEO. Managing two major corporations was no small feat, requiring someone of significant capability.
Daniel knew many skilled individuals in Marvel, mostly in scientific fields like Dr. Helen Cho, the pioneer of nanotechnology. However, finding management talent was trickier.
"You've been out of control lately," Daniel confronted Stark after the party. In the past, Stark would have eagerly discussed magic with Daniel, but now he seemed indifferent.
"I've always been like this," Stark shrugged. Although he continued to host parties, he no longer indulged with women. The latest Playboy models didn't even catch his eye.
"You seem to forget that I'm a wizard. Just because others can't solve your problem doesn't mean I can't. I've been waiting for you to ask for my help," Daniel said, placing a set of white chopsticks on a nearby table.
"These chopsticks are made from a unicorn's horn. They won't cure your poisoning completely, but they can alleviate the symptoms."
"You killed a unicorn for me?" Stark leapt up in shock.
"Calm down," Daniel replied, shaking his head. "I got them from poachers. I'm working on a new spell that might solve your problem entirely. So, keep your spirits up."
___________________
Read Ahead
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